Namikaze
by Edali Ikyri
Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them? Read on to find out!
1. Survival

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

His world was ending.

They had lost the war and there was nothing left for him to fight for. Every village had been destroyed, every person killed, and every thing obliterated. Naruto couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely down his face. He'd lost everything dear to him. His teachers, friends, the entire village.

Despite everything he'd done, despite all his best efforts, he had failed.

"You can have another chance."

Naruto snapped his head up. A masked person stood just a few feet away from him. He hadn't sensed them coming, hadn't even noticed them until they had spoken. They were average height and wore plain black clothing. A plain white fox shaped mask covered their face but not the rest of their face which allowed him to see bright red hair.

Naruto had thought he was the last on left. His enemies had opted not to end his life and let him watch the world rot away. They had left him to wallow in the knowledge of how miserably he'd failed.

How had this strange person escaped them?

The masked person held up their left hand palm and wrist towards them. As he looked he saw a number displayed just below their palm. The number glowed with purple energy then ticked one number down. It looked like a timer but what exactly was it timing?

He couldn't restrain his curiousity and asked.

The person turned their wrist around to look at the number for themself, "It's how much time I have left. How much time you have left."

He was still confused to say the least. Did they mean that this world was going to end when that counter hit zero? Did they have something to do with the people who sought to end this world? The answer was too vague and only created more questions.

He of course asked for clarification.

A light chuckle reached his ears but sounded more tired and sad than amused. The person shook their head. Naruto watched as they removed the mask revealing the face of a young girl. She had sharp blue eyes and short cut bright red hair that framed a narrow face. Naruto couldn't help thinking she looked a lot like a girl version of his father.

She began to explain, "I am from another world. In that world I was born in place of you and like you I failed to save my world. This counter is how long I have left before the Jutsu I used to jump from one world to the next, from mine to yours, ends. When it hits zero thats the end and I will disappear. Completely."

Naruto didn't know what to say, if she was telling the truth that would be amazing. What were the limits to what she was able to do? Where could she go? Could she warn people about the dangers that the next world would face?

Taking his silence as a sign to continue the person added, "This world is a failure too. It couldn't be saved but I can take you with me to the next one. Perhaps with your help we can save that world. We can give the Child of Prophecy of that world their best chance."

"You mean - ?"

She took a deep breath, "I will disappear when this jutsu ends. Completely cease to exist. If you come with me you will too. But I believe if we can save the people meant to be our parents then the next world will not be doomed. It can be saved."

"Okay!"

The girl seemed surprised by his immediate acceptance. Then she smiled at him, the truest most sincere expression he'd seen on her face through out the whole exchange. She offered him her hand. When he took it they were enveloped in white nothingness.

They didn't have to put any effort into moving, the strange place seemed to push them forward on its own.

"We will arrive in the new world on October 10th but when during that day is hard to say."

Naruto fixed her with a curious gaze, "How do you know it'll be on the 10th?"

He eyes were cold when she said, "It's always the 10th."

Before he could ask anymore questions the light faded away and they staring the Kyuubi in the face. His companion grabbed the back of his jacket and suddenly they were on the grown before the Kyuubi could snap them in his jaws. They hit the ground between the Kyuubi's paws and went skidding through the mud and muck. Both were quick to recover and get back on their feet just fast enough to avoid getting stepped on. Naruto grabbed the girl and dragged her off to the cover of some nearby trees.

"You can use Dad's time-space jutsu!?"

"Thats not important now. We are fighting time. I need to you keep our Father busy while I get the baby born in this world. I'll have to seal the Kyuubi in them if we don't want our Father to use the Reaper Death Seal."

Naruto nodded. Remembering the story he had been told about the night of his birth He figured his father must be fighting the masked man right about now. It took him a minute to get his bearings but he was quickly able to sense Minato. He was a good distance away but Naruto was sure he'd make it in time.

"Just keep Dad busy. I can do that." He rushed off to the location.

"Good luck." The girl whispered before using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

Naruto arrived at the location of his father's fight with masked attacker just in time.

The masked man had gotten a set chains around the Yondaime but just as Naruto was about to yell a warning Minato flashed away. He snapped his mouth shut before any actually noise could make it out. He'd let this play out on its own resolved to only step in if things went iffy.

"It's probably best to only draw their attention If I need to. Even if I do have to step in I'm covered in dirt and mud. That means there is no way for Dad to recognize me as the baby by my birthmarks either. I'm just a random Konoha Shinobi." Naruto thought to himself perching on a high branch.

Both men could probably sense he was there but neither made any attempt to engage him. He could just watch. Everything He'd been told was playing out exactly and right before his eyes. It was pretty satisfying to watch his old man use Rasengan to beat the masked man into the ground. It took a lot of willpower to keep from cheering for his father.

"I wonder how that girl is doing?"

The world jumper landed in the safe house Minato had left his wife, Kushina, just in time. It had taken her a painful amount of time to figure out which kunai marked this location there had been so many in the near vacinity. When she landed the cry of an infant alerted her that she was in fact in the right spot. The place was mostly empty save some sparse furniture and the odd looking bed her mother was laying on.

Speaking of her mother, a string of expletives told her that the woman was none too happy to see her. Thankfully Kushina was still to weak from childbirth and having the Kyuubi removed to fight her. The girl didn't want to fight her own mother.

"I'm sorry for everything. I'm here to help make it better. Please don't fight me on this." She stated simply as she neared Kushina. Of course the new mother wasn't going to listen to some random stranger and was quite lively for someone in her condition.

"Don't you dare come near me or my children! One more step and I swear I'll tear you apart!"

The girl stopped dead, "Children?"

Never before had she landed in a world were two children had been born. Was it because she had brought Naruto along with her? She glanced at the two infants. One was a blond and the other a red head. Twins. A boy and a girl.

Naruto and herself.

She shook her head. No, it wasn't actually her or Naruto but this worlds version of them. But how was she supposed to handle this? The Nine-Tails had to be sealed in the Child of Prophecy. Which of these children was it? Were both of them the Child of Prophecy? There was no telling.

She would just have to split the Kyuubi between them. Yin and Yang.

She made a couple of hand signs and cast a simple jutsu that would put her mother sleep and help her heal. Something like this probably wouldn't have worked had Kushina not already been in a weakened state. Once the woman was safely out she then gathered the two infants into her arms.

"I'm sorry to all of you but this is how it has to be," She whispered softly.

The sealing alter was set by the time Naruto arrived back with her. In the background the Kyuubi raged all the more violently.

"Wha-? Twins?"

The girl nodded at him, "Thankfully I know how to split the Kyuubi from watching your father do it in your world."

Naruto wanted to ask all kinds of questions about that. How could she have seen his father seal the Nine-tails in him? There was no time to ask though as before mentioned creature looked their way. Even though he had befriended the Fox in his world he still found being fixed by the bijuu gaze to be absolutely terrifying.

"Well, Dad ported away to check on Mom and the baby. We don't have much time before he shows up here." Naruto warned her. He really didn't want to get killed by his own father.

"Right,' She agreed and began making the hand seals for the sealing jutsu she would use.

Gently she placed her hands on each of the infants stomachs and uttered a small prayer. Like the winds of a storm the Kyuubi began to get sucked into the seals on either infant. Naruto put his hands on her shoulders offering up his own chakra to help to set and reinforce the seal. As soon as the Kyuubi was completely sealed into the pair of infants Naruto pulled the girl away them. It was just in time to avoid being attacked by a very angry Minato Namikaze.

"Who are you?" Minato demanded placing himself between them and the children.

Naruto threw a questioning glance her way. How did she plan on explaining this one?

"We aren't in league with the masked man. We just came to help. If we hadn't stepped in it is very likely you and you wife would be dead by now," She offered in explanation.

Then she turned to Naruto and showed her wrist to him. It was almost to zero.

"Time for us to go."

Minato watch the pair as they changed into a odd light and slowly faded away into nothingness. He wasn't sure he knew what was going on or how to explain this to Kushina but at the very least the fox was sealed away again, the twins were safe, and both of them were alive.

He gathered his twins protectively into his arms and flashed away.

* * *

Thank you for reading! This is my first Naruto fic in a long time and I'm excited to be getting back into the fandom! Some people were concerned this would be a neglect fic but worry not as it will be the farthest from that. I appreciate you reading and if you really liked feel free to review and maybe even favorite this story.


	2. Coming Home

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

After the chaos that surrounded the night of October the 10th Konoha was on high alert. Those still able to fight were positioned at strategic defense positions around the village. Those that couldn't were being brought in and pushed back out of the hospitals as quickly as possible. The medic nin had a hard time of it, having to assess every injury with a critical eye. The criteria for injuries bad enough to be admitted on a more extended scale had to be strained.

Even the maternity ward was being over ran with the injured from the Kyuubi attack.

Thanks to the chaos though no one had questioned why she hadn't been admitted to the hospital immediately once she'd gone into labor. They had chalked it up to Minato being out fighting and her being unable to get the hospital by herself. Everything else they glossed over as vaguely as possible and all the nurses swallowed it willingly enough. The nurses were more concerned with the fact that the new Hokage wasn't as available as previously thought and went about their work lamenting that fact.

"What a night to give birth, huh?" Mikoto Uchiha sighed, bouncing Naruto and watched as a pair of nurses shoved another Kyuubi victim down the hall.

Kushina had to agree with her, "Yeah, I'll say. Heh, and we weren't even expecting this little gal."

The 'little gal' in question wrinkled her nose as if she were offended by that then simply yawned. The baby girl was a bit smaller than her twin brother, not enough to make the medical staff worry. They were being discharged immediately since the doctors deemed both infants and their mother to be in surprisingly well enough health to go home.

Ah, the blessings of having Uzumaki blood.

It was unfortunate that Minato had to see to the recovery of the village which meant he wouldn't be able to assist her in taking the twins home. Thankfully Mikoto had volunteered to assist her with the task and as it turned out she wasn't the only one. Kakashi had appeared in the doorway to her hospital room looking uncharacteristically shy and unsure.

So he was still a little kid, in some ways, after all.

"Minato-sensei asked me to come and help." He explained looking almost bashful.

Kushina smiled and waved the awkward boy in to the room, "Come here Kakashi."

Mikoto excused herself to see if she could wrangle up a wheelchair for Kushina. She gave Kakashi a knowing smile as she passed and gently placed Naruto back into his bassinet on her way out. When Kakashi got close enough Kushina instructed him how to hold his arms then gently placed the newborn girl there.

"What if I drop her?" He questioned immediately tensing as the baby settled into his arms.

Kushina laughed, "You're a Jounin Kakashi. I highly doubt you'll drop her. Just relax."

She was right he told himself, actually he was ANBU but they couldn't exactly say that out loud. He took a deep breath and settled himself. Then the baby wiggled a little in his arms and scrunched her face up making him panic all over again. Was she going to cry?

"Bounce her a little." Kushina said softly.

He followed her order and gently bounced his arms. This seemed to be just the magic to calm her down as she instantly settled again. Her pink went content and he sighed in relief but handed the baby back to her mother none the less.

"What did you decide to name her?" He asked walking over to peek at the other twin.

"We decided to name her Akane," She seemed rather proud of herself with that one.

The name meant 'deep red' if Kakashi remembered right. It suited the little girl who had the same ruby red hair her mother did. Though Akane's was still just a little swirl of soft strands on the top of her head unlike her mother's extremely long locks. The boy on the other hand had the same blond hair his father did and quite a bit of it too. As if sensing Kakashi's gaze on him Naruto scrunched up his face just like his twin had scaring off the teen.

Mikoto chose then to reappear in the doorway with a wheelchair and an aggravated look in her eye. Some poor fool must have tried to put up a fight and while Mikoto was pretty mild, most of the time, getting in her way would only invoke her particular brand of Uchiha ire. It was something Kakashi didn't really want to see.

In no time at all, mostly to not risk losing the wheelchair, they had the few things Kushina had brought packed into a duffle bag. Kushina herself was settled into the wheelchair with the help of Mikoto. Despite what the doctors seemed to think she was still sore all over, some of that might have more to do with getting a nine-tailed beast yanked out of her then actual childbirth but that was hard to say. Naruto was settled in Kushina's arms and Mikoto carried Akane. Kakashi had decided he would push the wheelchair as to avoid any more contact with babies who scrunched their noses at him. Not that he was going to admit that. No self respecting fourteen year old was scared of babies.

The walk back to the Namikaze house was actually rather boring Kakashi had to admit. Granted most of the villagers were extremely eager to greet the Hokage's two brand new babies but Kushina's temper was legendary and no one wanted to toe that line. So mostly all that happened was a lot of whispering and old ladies cooing from the sidelines.

The Namikaze house had always been a clean and orderly place. Minato and Kushina never seemed to make a mess. In fact they always seemed to leave things cleaner when they left than when they arrived. So seeing it in the state of disarray that the attack had left it in was a shock. Mikoto sighed at the mess and uttered a string of mutters and curses under her breath.

The house itself hadn't sustained any structural damage but anything that had once been on the wall was now on the floor. If something had sat on a shelf it was most likely on the floor too, in a million pieces. Kushina would mourn her nik-nak collection later. Kakashi and Mikoto cleaned out the the living room first. Thankfully the heavy couch had barely wiggled in place and was still in pretty much the same shape it had been before the attack.

Kushina was settled there with a twin on either side of her while Mikoto went to check out the twin's room. Kakashi wandered toward the kitchen and dining area.

Mikoto's review of the room was that it had faired better than the living room. The crib was still in one piece and most of the wall decor had managed to stay where it had been nailed. Basically all that they needed was to get another crib but the twins were small enough they'd fit in the one for awhile. Kakashi's review of the kitchen wasn't as good. It was hard to tell if the appliances were working correctly when the house, and most of the village, was without power. All of the cooking utensils had shaken free of their holds, a knife was sticking out of the wall, and the kitchen window was fractured but had yet to shatter completely.

Basically it was going to be a tiring time with two new babies and a house to fix especially when on top of that her husband had to keep the village from falling apart. Kushina let out a deep sigh, this was going to be an experience alright. Mikoto and Kakashi straightened up the kitchen and the bathroom for Kushina before they had to leave. Mikoto needed to check up on her own children but swore to come check up on her the next morning. Kakashi muttered something about going to help around the village.

Once she was left to her own devices Kushina couldn't help but stare at each of her children. They were alive and healthy and whole. Both her and Minato were alive too and with each breath she took that day the more her gratitude grew. There were so many questions left unanswered from that night but for now this was more than enough. So far each twin had remained peacefully asleep as if they too were to tired from the previous night events to do much else besides nap.

It was late when Minato finally got to come home. Despite being the current Hokage he had found himself on the wrong end of one of Third's famous lectures. The ones he had often given hot head genin during his own Hokage days. After being thoroughly informed that despite his responsibilities he need to eat and sleep like the rest of them he was sent home like an errant child. Not that he was really complaining though, he was excited to see his wife and his children again.

He found them in the nursery. The twins were in their crib and his wife was out cold in the rocking chair. He didn't bother turning on the light, the power was probably still out in this district. The moon streamed in through the window and provided enough for him to see by. Smiling he walked to the crib to peer at his children.

Akane was sound asleep and her little hand twitched every once in awhile. Naruto was awake though peacefully staring upwards at the mobile. When Minato came into his, blurry, view his eyes tried to follow him. Pulling the boy into his arms filled Minato with an odd warm feeling. Naruto yawned but kept his eyes always on Minato's softly illuminated face.

"Hey there Buddy. I'm your dad." He whispered softly.

Naruto offered toothless newborn smile at that. He rather like the sound of this strange big person's voice. Minato continued to coo sweet fatherly things to his son and daughter earning more smiles and soft cooes.

Kushina peeked at him through half lidded eyes and smiled.

* * *

Thank You for reading! As always comments and reviews are always appreciated. And to those who were concerned this is NOT a neglect fic.


	3. Graduating for Idiots

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

By the age of twelve Akane was convinced her brother would die a young suicidal idiot.

"You want to do what!?"

Naruto clapped a hand over his sister's mouth. He made a very dramatic 'shh' gesture before turning to stare at the door to her bedroom. He stared at it for awhile as if expecting a great beast, or their mother, to come busting through the doorway. Thankfully Mom was miles away in another village on a mission. They wouldn't have been too surprised if she had come through the door despite all that. Kushina was weirdly perceptive to her twins mischief.

In fact there was probably no need to be quiet at all since they were the only ones home. Minato was working late at the Hokage tower, he had sent an apologetic note home, and as stated before Kushina wasn't even in the village. Then again the pair always needed to be carefully of their father's ANBU.

"I need to st- I mean borrow a scroll from Dad." Naruto re-explained.

Akane eyed him suspiciously, "Why exactly?"

Her twin rolled his eyes like 'geez why couldn't she just trust him?' and sighed heavily . Then like he was being asked to explain the meaning of life he began his story. By the end Akane still wasn't sure she believed him. What teacher would tell their student to take one of their parent's scrolls? Not just any scroll either but apparently a pretty important one.

She set the book she'd been reading on the night stand. She knew Mizuki-sensei had pulled Naruto away from the rest of the class after the exams. Was that really so he could administer some secret test to her brother? Why? Because he was the Hokage's son?

It was true that having the son of the Hokage fail an academy test wasn't exactly good for their father's, or the village's, public appearance. Since the academy allowed students to take the test whenever they felt ready this had been the third attempt for the both of them. No one had expected them to pass on the first attempt but the second had been reasonably later when they were nine. Nine had been the average age of graduates between the second and third wars. There were rumors that now even if a kid technically passed the test if the teachers thought them too young, or immature, they'd fail the kids anyway.

Either way Minato wouldn't put such pressure on them to graduate early. Their father had never really cared about that kind of thing. He was the type of parent to let them figure things out and move on at their own pace. Akane wouldn't believe he had put their teachers up to this type of thing. Considering that the exams had just happened late that morning she wondered if her father even knew Naruto had failed yet. Akane herself had passed the test and if Iruka had realized his mirror image's left eye rolled around a little too much he didn't say anything.

Naruto feeling ignored interrupted her thoughts, "Pleeeaase, Akane. I need to pass. I can't get left behind."

Great. Now he was begging and Akane had always been a sucker for her twin. If a teacher had told him about this so called 'secret test' it though it couldn't be considered trouble making. At least she hoped. Naruto knew he had her when she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He snagged her in a bear hug and began jumping around the room. Naruto ignored all her protests at being manhandled. It took her awhile to finally convince him to let her go.

"When do you have to do it by?"

He glanced at her, "Remember you already agreed."

"Naruto," She stressed his name suspiciously.

"Tonight."

* * *

A while later and she was seriously regretting this. Naruto on the other hand was far too happy about the situation. Both thanked their lucky stars their mother was away on a mission. If she hadn't been this whole thing would have ended before it even began. She might be a goofy mom most of the time but she could be pretty terrifying if she thought her kids, or anyone really, was up to no good.

The scroll was located in the Hokage Tower Library. It wasn't top level security as far as the Hokage Tower went excepting the fact the Tower was the most secure building in the entire village. How were a pair of preteens going to get in? It helped that their father was the Hokage and their Dad also happened to be working late that night. Getting in wouldn't be a problem. Getting out on the other hand probably would.

Neither guards questioned it when she showed up, boxed meal in hand, smiling like the most innocent thing in the world. It helped that her trouble making twin was nowhere to be seen. Unbeknown to them said twin was busy shimming into the ventilation system. It was as easy as that. Under the guise that she was bringing her father dinner Akane was simply let in and Naruto had been sneaking past the guards for years.

This late at night the only people in the tower were mostly likely just the guards and the Hokage. If they were really unlucky the Elders might be there too. She was halfway down the hall to the Hokage office when a hand pulled her into a dark side hall.

"Naruto!" She hissed, heart racing.

Naruto only gave her a big grin in response.

"Now all we have to do is distract Dad and make off with the scroll." He said it with a laugh.

That had been exactly what she had been heading off to do. She refused to get frustrated, or at least show it. She fixed her brother with a stern stare. Any time wasted like this was increasing the risk of being caught.

"Yes, I know that. We talked about this before we left the house. I'll distract Dad. You get the scroll. We'll meet up at the old cabin in the woods." She did her best to remain patient.

"I know, I know. I was just making sure you remembered."

Opting to not respond to that she got up to leave while waving him off down the darkened side hall. She doubled checked to make sure no one was coming then went on her way. Meanwhile her twin was stealthily making his way through the dark corridors toward the library.

The blond preteen had long age memorized every hall this building had to offer. He'd been coming here his whole life after all. It wasn't really that hard to remember which guards walked which halls and when they walked those halls. Simply put it was easy for Naruto to sneak in and pull pranks on his father's staff. It helped that his mother had taught him all the best places to sneak and hide in.

He made short work of getting to the library doors. Unfortunately they were locked. He could try to pick the lock or find another way in. Peeking along the walls and ceiling he spotted another portion of the ventilation system he'd use to get into the building. Chances were that this vent connected to one in the library but he'd never been in this portion of the system. He didn't know what kind of nasty surprises were in there. Picking the lock might catch someone attention if the door creaked or set off a trap of its own. Geez, what a dilemma.

At about this time Akane was knocking on the doors to her father's office. She didn't get a response at all. How weird. She was sure her dad was still at work. She went to knock again when a hand appeared above her head. Startled she jumped and whipped around to face the person who'd snuck up on her. It was Genma. He put a finger to his lips quietly then shoved the doors open. Peeking inside she saw that her father was in fact there. At his desk. Snoring. She almost fell flat on her face.

"Your Dad works hard, huh?" Genma whispered pushing the doors all the way open.

Akane nodded with a proud little smile and stepped inside. She put the boxed dinner on his desk quietly wondering if she should wake him up. Perhaps she shouldn't. If he was awake he might sense Naruto sneaking around the building and that wouldn't be good. She turned to leave perfectly content to let him continue dozing at his desk.

She almost made it to the door.

"Akane, what is your brother up to?"

Her heart nearly hammered out of her chest at her father's voice. Before she could answer another member of the Hokage Guard Platoon sped into the room. Raido skidded past Genma and herself to a halt just before the Hokage.

"Sir, your son stole the Scroll of Sealing!"

* * *

Naruto was long gone and lost to the forest by the time Raido had sounded the alarm. Happily he tracked down the old cabin Mizuki sensei had told him about earlier that day. Following trail markers was much harder at night then during the day but he somehow managed. Finally arriving at the decrepit old building Naruto was unimpressed. He was expecting something a little more cool, like a top secret hideout. Anything really other than a molding old wooden shack.

Sighing in disappointment he set the scroll down on the ground and rolled it open. There were tons of different jutsus. All of them were pretty interesting and Naruto wanted to memorize them all but knew he didn't have time. He picked the very first one listed in the scroll. It looked the simplest to do despite being a clone jutsu. Without waiting for his twin he set to work, she'd show up eventually.

He lost track of time repeating the hands signs over and over again. Pushing chakra through his body until the combination made something happen. Suddenly he was staring a perfect clone of himself. His clone put his arms being his head and chuckled at him.

"Whoa!" He laughed performing some actions that were instantly mirrored by the other him.

He repeated the process and shoved more chakra through his system and this time he produced three clones. He kept it up until he started to feel tired. He'd managed to make about ten to fifteen clones before he decided taking a break was a good idea. He rolled the scroll back up and slung it across his back and began to wonder where his twin was.

A thump in a nearby tree alerted him someone had joined him. Expecting to see Akane he was surprised it was none other than his teacher Iruka sensei. He chuckled nervously at first then realized that perhaps Iruka had come to test his new jutsu. Maybe Mizuke hadn't been able to make it? Either way If he could just pull it off in front of Iruka he'd pass for sure. He wouldn't be an embarrassment to his parents or village!

"Naruto! What do you think you're doing!?" Iruka scolded.

Naruto grinned, this was his chance, "I'm taking the test! Mizuki sensei told me all about it. All I have to do is perform a jutsu from the scroll right?"

If Naruto was concerned about the confused look on Iruka's face he didn't show it. At that point Iruka shoved Naruto away as a flurry of weapons pinned him against the cabin. Everything happened rather fast at that point. He remembered Iruka telling him to run, to not let Mizuki have the scroll. He wanted to listen to Iruka. He wanted to run but his legs refused to listen and stayed rooted in place.

"Go back to the village!"

Mizuki grinned, "Why would you do a thing like that? That village doesn't want you. They want the thing inside of you."

"Mizuki! Stop!" Iruka shouted.

Naruto couldn't think of a smart response. Normally he'd be all big talk and shouting things like 'I'll be a better Hokage than Dad!' but not now.

All he could manage was a very intelligent, "What?"

Mizuki continued to taunt the pair as he pulled the large shuriken from his back. It was surprising the force he was able to put behind such a large weapon. Still frozen and unresponsive Naruto could only watch as it spun his way dangerously. Iruka was coming his way too but it felt like it was in slow motion compared to the way his heart drummed in his ears. The shuriken seemed to spin faster, in time with his heartbeat.

Naruto finally found his feet and turned to flee. He didn't have enough time and a thump told him the weapon had embedded itself. Fresh blood hit the ground in front of him but oddly there was no pain. Then he heard Iruka wheeze above him.

Mizuki made a tsk noise, "I really don't understand you two. Iruka you were orphaned because of the monster sealed inside that kid. And you, Naruto, this village will never accept you even if you are the Yondaime's son with that thing in you. The same goes for that sister of yours."

Iruka ignored the man. Instead he was much more surprised as Naruto pulled himself out from under him. A determined glare was set in his eyes as he removed the scroll and set it down with a thud. There was fire behind the bright blue of the young boy's eyes.

He pointed at a finger at Mizuki, "I don't really get what you're talking about but don't ever talk about my family or my village with that tone!"

He preformed a series of hand signs and shoved all of his chakra through his body. In a flash of smoke and popping noises more than two dozen mirror images of himself appeared from thin air. Without so much as word from him they all swarmed Mizuki taking him down before he could finish a surprised scream.

* * *

I'm trying to go between Naruto and Akane equally in this chapter. It something I'm definately going to try to continue doing to bes to of my ability.


	4. The Way Life Goes

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

The next morning both twins sat on the couch looking very ashamed. Their mother had returned early that morning and was let in on all the details over breakfast. Kushina stood in front of them arms crossed tapping her fingers. Both Akane and Naruto expected to be yelled at. When their mother had remained silent through the whole explanation they'd begun to worry.

"So Iruka passed you?"

Naruto nodded, "He said the technique I learned from the scroll was jounin level at least. It would work to replace the normal clone jutsu."

His mother was quiet for a minute thinking it over. All academy students needed to know all of the basic jutsu techniques to pass. There were fundimental to any shibobi's skill set. Naruto had only struggled with the one, probably only due to his terrible chakra control, but that ultimately still failed him. By learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu in replacement of the normal Clone Jutsu he had convinced Iruka to pass him. Ultimately though Iruka had left it to them to decide if they wanted Naruto to pass or not. While he thought it would be fine they might think otherwise and as his parents they had a say in the matter.

They had already decided to go along with Iruka and let Naruto pass. There was a more pressing issue they had to deal with. Kushina took a deep breath sliding her eyes in the direction of her husband. Minato tiredly stared back.

"Minato can I talk to you for a minute," Kushina sighed waving her husband into the dining room.

The twins shared a glance as their parents passed but dared not move. Their parents had gone to the farthest corner of the kitchen to speak. They could hear their whispers but not the actual words they were speaking. Akane elbowed her brother who'd been unusually quiet the whole time.

"Can you hear them?"

He simply shrugged at her but peeked out the corner of his eye. Kushina and Minato seemed to have come to an agreement on something though. They came back slower than they had left then both took positions on the floor and directed the twins to do the same. They'd done this before during times they decided that there need to be a 'talk'. Nervously Naruto moved to join them first and Akane followed.

"You both know we love you no matter what. Right?" Minato began.

Both nodded.

"We need to tell you something very important about the night you were born."

Naruto looked at them worriedly, "The fox attack?"

Everyone in Konoha knew about the Nine-tailed Fox that attacked Konoha the night they were born. Most of the villagers seemed to have taken it as an ill omen or something for the twins future. Though no one had ever threatened them or treated them badly there was always this palpable nervousness the whole village had around them. Until now Akane had always just thought it was because their father was the Hokage and no one wanted to upset him.

"Has anyone taught you what a Jinchuriki is yet?" Kushina asked.

Akane vaguely remember the term popping up but nothing specific. She looked toward her brother who shook his head too. Their mother began to explain how some villages had people with giant demons called the 'Tailed Beasts' sealed inside them. She spoke at length about how these monsters were very dangerous when they were set loose.

Kushina took a deep breath, "Before you were born. I was a Jinchuriki for the Nine-Tails. The night I gave birth to you two a masked man attacked us. He pulled the fox out of me and set him on the village."

Akane shot her brother a look. Naruto was looking at her the same way. Their mother had been a living vessel for a monster? Their kind and loving mother who made the most amazing meals, put bandages on their scrapes, and kissed them goodnight every evening? Akane thought it must be some kind of joke but when tears pricked at the corner of their mother's eyes she couldn't make herself believe that.

"Two more strange people showed up that night too. They took you away from me and sealed one half of the fox in each of you."

Kushina wanted nothing more than to sweep her children up in a hug then. It was horrible to have to dump this news on them but they were genin now, no matter how they did it, and they needed to know. It wasn't like they could hide it for long after the stunt that betrayer had pulled. Naruto at least would have known and he never hid anything from his sister. This situation could go wrong in a number of ways.

Akane ran for it. Without a word she dashed into her room slamming the door behind her.

Naruto looked genuinely surprised before looking back to his parents, "She didn't take it very well."

Kushina didn't know if she should laugh at her son's nonchalant attitude or cry about her daughter's less than ideal one. Her husband's gently hand on her shoulder caught her off guard. Naruto's concerned eyes made her realize the tears she'd been holding back the whole time had slipped out.

"I'll talk to her," He said softly leaving mother and son to themselves.

Naruto in all honesty wasn't sure how to feel. It was obviously a bad thing that there was some sort of monster in his belly, he knew that much. His mother had said she'd been the same way before they'd been born and there were others like them out there in the world too.

"Is the fox evil, Mom?" He questioned. Certainly it was a bad thing but was he totally unrepentfully evil?

"It's hard to say, Naru-chan. Never once has he done a good thing the entire time I knew him but maybe someday he can change." She offered in response.

His next question broke her heart, "It doesn't make us bad, right? To have the monster in us?"

She took his hands gently in her own, "Of course not Naruto. The Kyuubi changes nothing about you. No matter what and as long as you keep love in your heart he never can."

* * *

Minato stood at Akane's bedroom. He knocked softly but got no response. When he tried to open the door he found she must have put something against it to keep the door shut. He sighed and closed his eyes sensing out the Hiraishin mark he had on her. He used it and was mildly confused when the space he'd ported to was completely dark. He heard a muffled sniffle and realized he was in his daughter's closet.

"Aka-chan?" He asked softly finding his daughter in the dark closet as soon as his eyes adjusted.

His little girl was curled into a ball in the far corner looking much smaller than a twelve year-old. Something in his heart broke especially when he heard her soft sniffs and sobs. Gently Minato sat next to her in that dark closet. He looped a long arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.

"Dad, what am I?"

Minato didn't hesitate, "Your my little girl and you might be a little spoiled but you are definitely not a monster."

Akane sniffed loudly when he hugged her, "You're one of my precious people and I'd rather die than see you get hurt."

Little sobs shook Akane as she buried her nose into her father's chest. Minato was mildly surprised at the strength she had as she clutched him, they were growing up so fast. He made soothing noises and rubbed her back gently. He told her he loved her, that her mother and brother loved her, that she wasn't a monster just because there was a demon inside her. He'd repeat it over again as many times as he needed too.

"You aren't alone, Akane. You know we'll never leave you. We're a family and we stick together no matter what."

She nodded gently loosening her hold on him but still not letting go of him.

"Should we go back out? I'm sure Mom and Naruto are worried."

She gave him a soft, "Yeah."

* * *

Their family would make it through this and many more challenges. They loved each other more than anything after all. Their parent assured them nothing would change. They'd been living with the fox inside them since they were infants after all. The only difference now was that they knew about it. Only the high ranking shinobi and certain other individuals knew any of the actual details about that night.

"Why don't we stay in today? No training. Let's just celebrate you guys graduating." Kushina suggested.

The twins whole heartedly agreed to that. Minato had to go to work for a little bit to at least let Iruka know of their decision. He also had to get the paperwork for all the graduates so they could be sorted into teams. Promising to be back in time for their celebration he ruffled their hair and headed for the tower.

Hours later both twins were covered in frosting from 'helping' their mother. Kushina laughed trying to wipe the sticky sweet stuff from Naruto's face. Minato looked on from his place at the table looking over information files on the new Genin. A knock sounded from the front door.

"I'll get it!" Naruto shouted wiggling away from his mother.

He swung the door open to and immediately leaped for the person on the other side. Akane joined them at the door laughing, "Gramps!"

Jiraiya was too busy trying to wrestle his godson off his face to try and respond. The boy had a pretty good grip on him especially when his fingers tangled into Jiraiya white locks. The pair nearly fell down the stairs before Minato stepped in to save his teacher.

"Nearly got suffocated there." The older man wheezed dramatically.

Akane laughed and gave her brother a high five. The twins lived to terrorize the Sannin, all in good fun of course. Whenever the older man came around there was always fun to be had often at the expense of others in the village. He also tended to bring presents which the twins loved.

Jiraiya gave them a playful glare then began to pout, "Seems my godchildren don't love me anymore. Guess I'll just have to take these present all the way back where I got them."

"No! We're sorry." One twin said.

The other chimed in, "We love you Gramps!"

Jiraiya seemed to think about it. He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. He shot them a look they reciprocated with perfect innocent smiles. Yeah, like he'd ever fall for that but he let out a long sigh.

"Okay. I'll forgive you just this once." He said before.

Both twins laughed cheerfully pulling the man inside by his hands. They told him all about the academy and graduating. Jiraiya would never admit it but he loved every bit of babble that came out of their mouths even if he didn't understand half of it. He was definitely not old enough to be feeling like a grandfather.

Minato could only shake his head watching the trio enter the house. They'd left him to carry all of Jiraiya's things in by himself. He began gathering things up as he heard more footsteps nearing him.

"Hey, Minato-sensei!" A cheerful voice chimed.

Another deeper voice chuckled, "We heard there was a party."

Rin was smiling as she and Obito dragged Kakashi behind them.

* * *

As always great thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know!


	5. Chisai Shrine Test

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

The fresh new graduates had approximately two months between the end of their academy lessons and their assignment to Genin teams. This gave the Hokage and the Academy teachers time to deliberate on which kids to group up and what instructor to assign them to. That time also gave the kids plenty of opportunity to pick up new skills. Most of that time though that time was most often spent doing typical stupid preteen things.

"We're going to do a Test of Courage!"

All eyes in the yard turned toward the feral looking Kiba Inuzuka. The group of graduates had assembled themselves in a training yard at the behest of the Inuzuka boy. He had been very insistent in fact otherwise most of them wouldn't have braved the hell-like heat that afternoon offered them.

"That's the best idea I've heard all day!" That was Naruto.

Sakura rolled her eyes, those boys were like two peas in a pod. Though not the best of friends they had enough of a similar mindset to get along most days. Other days it set them against each other rather viciously, today was not one of those days. The same could be said of her and Ino but the only similarity between them, atleast according to her, was their admiration of Sasuke Uchiha.

Speaking of Sasuke Uchiha the boy was sitting in the shade of the nearest tree. Next to him was Akane Namikaze drawing a tick-tac-to pattern in the sand. Most of the other females in the area were glaring at her. Hokage's daughter or not how dare she get so close to their beloved Sasuke!? Akane had long ago become a pro at ignoring them and simply scratched a X in the middle space. Akane passed her stick to the Uchiha boy

"Who'd do something stupid like that?" Sasuke asked putting O in the top right.

Akane silent took the stick and drew another X to the right of the original. Sasuke blocked her on the other side. Naruto and Kiba glared at them both for not taking the situation seriously.

"It isn't stupid! It'll be the perfect chance to prove our bravery to each other!" Kiba defended his idea.

Naruto nodded his full agreement, "Akane will do it! Right sis?"

Akane nodded absently, "Sure."

She drew another X in the bottom right corner. Sasuke gave her a look like he couldn't believe she'd agreed to it. He put his own mark in the top left. She put one in the bottom middle hoping to trick him. It didn't work as he dropped one in the top middle and got three in a row.

"Are you guys done now?" Kiba asked impatiently.

Akane's answer was to swipe the game away with her hand and turn to Sasuke, "It won't hurt to give it a try would it?"

Sasuke grunted lightly, "I'll think about it."

That usually meant he wouldn't show but there was always a chance. It pretty much guaranteed Ino and Sakura's participation, just in case he did show. The timid Hinato Hyuuga surprisingly agreed to it too. Ino goaded Chouji and Shikamaru into it. Shino not wanting to be left out agreed as well. Two other boys by the names of Kogeki and Yasashi also joined the ragtag bunch.

"All right! We'll meet at Chisai Hill at dusk." Kiba told the group before they split up.

* * *

When Sasuke entered his house he was greeted by the sound of Rin Nohara giggling. Obito Uchiha was tickling his girlfriend on the living room floor. The young woman was laughing so hard she kicked her feet and wheezed a little between giggles. She was stuggling to get away. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the pair.

"Welcome home Buddy." Obito called over his shoulder.

Rin used his distraction as an opportunity to wiggle away. Her boyfriend pouted like a kid who's favorite toy had been taken. Sasuke slipped past the pair to retreat to the quiet solitude of his room. He tossed his bag into the far corner and dropped face first into the bed.

He'd been living with Obito since he was nine due to certain circumstances. It wasn't terrible but it was far from how his life should have been. Obito was a nice enough, he supposed, but he had too much energy for Sasuke's liking. When he was home he was constantly bugging Sasuke about his day, training, or if there were any girls he liked. When he wasn't home he left sticky notes on every possible surface to do it for him.

Rin was a nice addition to the home if only because she distracted Obito from harassing him, and her cooking was actually edible.

There was a soft knock on the door frame. He grunted into is bed.

"We're going to be making dinner. Anything you want?" Obito asked.

Sasuke shook his head but it only made it look like he was nuzzling into his sheets.

"Tough day Bud?"

"I'm not your Bud." He grunted.

"Rin's cooking so you better eat. If you don't neither of us will hear the end of it." Obito changed the subject then left the room.

Sasuke didn't react in anyway but resigned himself to having to sit through a meal with the couple. Rin had learned how to be a particular kind of persuasive from her Sensei's wife, and she had learned very well. No one tested Rin Nohara or Kushina Namikaze.

Later as he sat at the kitchen table a quick series of knocks echoed from the front door. Obito and Rin shared a look as if to ask if either was expecting someone. Both of them looked at him to which he only shrugged. Obito got up to answer the door. A white hair man about the same age as Obito stood there. Like Obito his right eye was covered though he used his ninja headband to do so where Obito had an actual eye patch. When Rin saw the man at the front door she too stood up and joined them.

Sasuke knew the man's name, it was Kakashi Hatake, but not much more than that. He'd come around Obito's place plenty but had never stayed very long. He probably didn't like the messy state the place had often been in before Rin started hanging around more. The three adults had an exchange, they even peeked at him once, before the man left. When Obito and Rin returned to the table they had a suspicious glint in their eyes.

* * *

Chisai Hill was home to a long abandoned shrine. Many people in the village held on to the belief that it was also home to angry and vengeful spirits. It was the perfect place to host a Test of Courage. It was also all the way on the other side of town from where Akane and Naruto lived. This meant they would have to leave well ahead of time to make it there at dusk. This meant getting past their mother while she was still awake.

Simply walking out the front door wasn't an option. Did they dare go out a window?

Yes.

Akane watched her brother jump out her bedroom window before joining him. They landed at the base of the house in the backyard. Thankfully the area was completely enclosed with a privacy fence. No nosy neighbors would see them sneaking around. The twins carefully skirted the edge of the house ducking under the living room window. As they turned the corner Akane spotted someone coming up to their front door. She stopped dead causing her brother to bump into her back.

"Naruto, Kakashi-nii is at our front door." Akane stated sound more confused than anything, it wasn't like Kakashi to appear so randomly at their front door.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Who cares? Can we get past him?"

Akane peeked around the building, "Mom's letting him in. Hang on."

As soon as the white haired man disappeared through their front door they made their getaway. The pair scurried across the street and into an alley spooking a feral cat in the process.

They made it just in time to see most of the kids who agreed to come had arrived. They were just short one Uchiha. Naruto was notably pissed. How dare Sasuke agree to come, even though he really hadn't agreed to anything, and then not show! It turned out though Naruto had gotten angry over nothing as minutes later Sasuke did indeed join them, he had a somewhat disturbed expression on his face too.

"Adults are disgusting." was all he would say on the matter.

They were standing at a fork in one of the old foot trails that formed a maze around Konoha. This was were the trail to Chisai Hill met up with the rest of Konoha. From here they would walk toward Chisai Shrine. The path hadn't been cared for since the superstitions had started up and was severely over grown.

Kiba being the organizer of the event began setting the ground rules. They would walk in pairs to the Chisai Shrine as soon as it got dark. Ino and Sakura were beyond pleased until Kiba added an additional rule: they would draw lots to see who went with who. He produced an empty can of dog food with twelve popsicle sticks in it. Each one had a number on it, one through six. Whoever had the same number as you was your partner.

The pairs ended up being Shikamaru and Chouji, Akane and Sakura, Kiba and Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke, Shino and Kogeki, then finally Yasashi and Ino.

They went off in order of the numbers they had pulled, each pair with a lantern. Shino and Kogeki were first. Neither seemed particularly ruffled by that as they set off down the trail. A few minutes later Kiba and Hinata followed then Shikamaru and Chouji. Ino pulled a rather frightened Yasashi behind her, apparently the boy was as timid as Hinata. Akane and Sakura were next with Naruto and Sasuke being last.

* * *

The trail was longer than Akane expected and twisted and turned in ways that just struck a person as odd. The excessive vegitation didn't help. No wonder there were so many odd rumors about the place. She looked at her partner as they walked along. Thankfully Sakura was remaining pretty level headed.

"Do you believe any of the rumors about this place?" Akane asked.

Sakura gave her a puzzled look, "Rumors?"

So she didn't know then. Akane was kind of surprised as kids dared each other to go to Chisai Shrine all the time. Then again Sakura didn't seem the type to be interested in that type of stuff so maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise. Then Akane got the fun idea to fill the pink hair girl in.

"Well they say there are all kinds of weird things that happen up here and there are vengeful spirits and all that. People say that they hear some one calling their name or that they feel like they get touched or grabbed. There was that one kid who said he saw a full bodied ghost along this very trial too." Akane explained.

"Oh. Do you believe it?" Sakura asked looking a little perturbed.

Akane thought about then shook her head, "Nah."

That's when they heard a scream come from the path ahead of them. Both girls jumped and moved a little closer to each other. That had sounded a lot like Ino. They squinted up the path but couldn't see anything in the darkness. They both gulped nervously then suddenly a shadow charged toward them down the path. Neither had time to scream for help.

A few minutes later Naruto and Sasuke came up the path. Both boys gave each other a weird glance when they spotted the two girls standing in the middle of the path. When neither moved as they got close they got a really strange feeling. Naruto went to touch his sister's shoulder.

Both girls turned around. Their eyes were pure black. Naruto and Sasuke screamed and hightailed it off the trail into the overgrowth.

Further up the trail Shikamaru threw a tired glance back over his shoulder. So far their trip had been uneventful despite the screams echoing up the path from behind them. He held up the lantern that had been given them to illuminate the path ahead. There was nothing of interest to note.

"What's got into those guys?" Chouji asked hearing another set of screams.

"Who knows? Those guys are way to high strung for me." Shikamaru sighed peeking back over his shoulder again.

Shikamaru kind of expected Chouji to continue the conversation. When the other boy didn't he turned to look at him only to see a look of pure horror on the boy's face. Following Chouji's line of site he spotted the thing that had scared him stiff. An odd little thing kneeled in the middle of the path. It was a white colored featureless apparition about the size of a child with large hollows were eyes should have been.

"Have you seen my mommy?" It asked.

For once Shikamaru's brain didn't know how to respond. Chouji fainted on the spot.

Kiba and Hinata were nearly to the shrine. Kiba could see it perched at the top of the hill. Kogeki and Shino's lantern flashed lazily in the wind. Hinata nervously walked alongside him. Her white eyes kept looking around waiting for something to come flying out of the trees at them.

The night remained eerily calm. A full moon hung in the sky like a foreboding warning. There was little to no breeze. Something was off. Kiba could smell it.

"Shouldn't we have made it there by now?" Hinata asked.

That was true. They should have made it to the shrine by now. It seemed no matter how far they walked though they weren't getting any closer. Kiba stopped to sniff the air. There were some strange smells but he couldn't place them. Then a sudden a fog rolled in surrounding the pair.

Spooked Hinata activated her Byakugan. Slowly she watched as human shaped shadows slowly started to emerge from the fog. She ducked behind Kiba grabbing his jacket tightly. The things only got closer even as the two preteens kept backing up. With each step they took the shadow people seemed to take two more. They kept backing up in till Hinata felt herself back into something soft. She snapped her head around only to have her vision blocked by something large and black.

She screeched.

* * *

Kogeki and Shino had been waiting at the Shrine for awhile. At least Kiba and Hinata should have been there by now and yet no one had shown. Muffled screams had been coming up the path but neither boy had run into anything they thought was so terrifying. The rest of the preteens must have been easy to spook. They continued to wait and watch the lantern flicker in the dark between them.

After another short while the shape of a person emerged into their light. As they drew closer the light illuminated the person more until she was recognizable. It was a young Jounin woman they remembered seeing around the village but neither knew her name.

Rin Nohara only smiled at the boys, "Sorry guys its time to head home."

"Ah, but we were waiting on our friends to get here." Kogeki protested.

"No worries. We already made sure to send them on their way home." The way she said it with a light chuckle made shivers run up Kogeki's spine.

Shino didn't seem to mind it though and only nodded.

He grabbed the lantern, "Perhaps we should head home too then."

It wasn't really a question but a statement and as he walked off with their only light source Kogeki had to follow him. Rin smiled and waved them off.

As the dark completely closed in around her again she was joined by Obito and Kakashi.

"Ah, I'm so glad we chased Sasuke out of the house. The look on his face when they saw the 'girls' was priceless." Obito laughed.

Picking on the groups of fresh Genin dumb enough to come wandering around this place at night was a favorite pass time of the old Team Minato. Hopefully it would teach the young ones to be careful of the places they wandered into in the future, only Rin really cared about that though. The two men just really liked the laughs they got out of it and had a great time spreading the rumors that got the kids to come in the first place.

It turned out the only ones they didn't need to do anything to spook was Yasashi and Ino. All it took was a breeze strong enough to push a gnarled branch of tree into Yasashi's path. As the branch brushed against him in the dark the boy went into full on panic mode, screamed like girl, and than ran for the hills. Ino was hot on his tail.

They didn't need to scare Akane and Sakura either. Yasashi had been the one to scare the the pair. He had charged past them with such blinding speed they must have thought some sort of monster was coming to kill them. They too ran for it until Rin stopped them and calmed them down enough to assure them ghost didn't exist and they should head home, never admitting that she was about to scare them herself. Once she started leading them down an alternate pathway to send them home Kakashi made the eyeless illusions of the pair that would scare the boys coming up behind them.

The trio shared a good laugh and walked away from the supposedly haunted shrine. Perhaps now the gaggle of new Genin would actually focus on learning something instead of wasting time.

* * *

This chapter wasn't really neccassary for any plot purpose. The idea just got into my brain and would leave but it did let me establish some differences from canon. Why does Sasuke live with Obito? I'm sure you'll be able guess. Who is Kogeki and Yasashi? All in due time. As always thanks for taking the time to read another chapter and please if you liked it leave a review.


	6. Ceremonies, Missions, and Concussions

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

Iruka stood at the head of class watching the bright eyed and excited kids, "I have your team assignments."

A excited cheer rippled through the entire class. All of them were on the edge of their seats. This would probably be one of the most important days of their lives. Which Sensei and the teammates you were paired with could make or break you as a shinobi. They listened as Iruka began reading off the names on the list. As each kids name was read the new genin got to go up and grab their Shinobi Headband from the desk. It felt like an eternity until he got to one of the twins' teams.

"Team Five will be under the supervision of Rin Nohara. The students in this team will be Akane Namikaze, Kogeki Tsunzaku, and Yasashi Katagi."

Akane gave a tiny cheer to be placed with Rin. Growing up Rin had been like a big sister to her and Naruto along with Obito and Kakashi who were like brothers. The trio retrieved their headbands and returned to their seats. Akane smiled at the brand new hitai-ate in her hands and a swell of excitement bubbled up. She didn't know the two boys on her team very well but that only meant she'd have some new people to get to know.

Naruto was placed on Team Seven, with Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi would be their Sensei. Akane felt a little worried about that. Kakashi was notorious among genin for the fact that he had failed all of the genin teams their Dad had tried to give him. What if he failed his newest team too?

Despite any worrying on Akane's part Iruka read of the rest of the teams. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata would be given to another first timer named Kurenai Yuhi while a man named Asuma Sarutobi would be the teacher for the next Ino-Shika-Cho squad. After he was done reading their names off he informed them that their new teachers would be getting in contact with them soon to let them know when and where they would start.

"Behave yourselves and listen to your team leaders. They're all you have standing between you and failure." Iruka said dismissing them all.

* * *

Kushina snagged her children in a suffocating grip as soon as they walked outside.

A ceremony was being held in the Academy yard.

"Theres my babies!" Kushina cooed as she nearly strangled them.

Their father Minato only laughed at their misfortune. Eventually they managed to wiggle free of their mother''s grip. This prompted her to lament about how fast they were growing up. There were proud looks in their parents eyes though and the twins were happy to have graduated at long last.

"Now we finally get to do the cool stuff, right? Like beating up bad guys and all that?" Naruto questioned.

"Probably not. Genin usually only get sent out on D or C rank missions. Normally those are pretty bland." Minato informed is son.

Both twins pouted a bit. That didn't sound cool at all. How were they supposed to learn to fight if they were being sent on missions to do menial labor? Minato ruffled their hair with a laugh and assured them they'd get to fight 'those bad guys' soon enough.

"Don't rush it. You're still kids so take the time to enjoy your childhood."

"I bet you guys got to fight lots of bad guys when you were genin." Naruto grumbled.

Kushina put her hands on Naruto's shoulders, "When we were young Konoha was often at war with the other Shinobi Powers. Now we're at peace and besides battles aren't fun and games. So please don't go running off into them just yet. If you do I'll worry a lot ya know?"

Well, they didn't want to worry their mom. Both twins nodded in agreement. No running headlong into any major battles or what not any time soon. It not like Rin or Kakashi would let them anyway, in fact Kakashi was probably getting a leash for Naruto as they speak.

The ceremony was a modest affair with only the new graduates, their family members, and the Academy teachers in attendance. Even with the Hokage there the focus was on the new genin. It was their day to shine after all and most of the kids soaked up the attention.

Eventually Iruka pulled out the camera. it was tradition for parents to be the ones to tie the new hitai-ate on their children for the first time. Eventually cameras came into use to take commemorative photos and then the Academy started to hand out graduation certificates. So Kushina and Minato each tied a the forehead protectors around one of twin's heads then all four stood together for a picture taken by Iruka.

* * *

Sasuke had attempted to sneak away from the celebration. It wasn't like anyone was there for him. He had no parents to tie the brand new hitai-ate around his head or take that picture with him. Stuff like that didn't really matter anyway. As he turned to leave he smacked right into none other than Obito Uchiha, technically his guardian.

The man only raised an eye brow at him, "Hey there Buddy."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm not your buddy."

He tried to brush past the other Uchiha but was stopped when a firm hand hit his shoulder. Obito sighed and scratched the back of his neck. Obito wasn't sure how to approach this kid half the time. Sasuke was a lot like Kakashi had been but when Obito approached Kakashi it was as a friend. He wasn't sure how to approach the Uchiha boy. Like father, a brother, or a friend? Obito took a deep breath.

"Listen. I know I'm not your parent or your brother and I'm not trying to replace them. Just let me be there for you a little bit. We're both part of the Uchiha Clan after all."

Being a Uchiha didn't mean much to Sasuke anymore. He used to be so proud of that name but now it wasn't hardly worth mentioning. It just told everyone around him that he was from a clan that had imploded and torn itself asunder. There was no honor in claiming that name anymore.

As if reading his mind Obito added, "I want to make the Uchiha name something to be proud of again. Will you help me out?"

Sasuke was ever the skeptic and only gave the man a suspicious look. Despite that Obito released his grip on Sasuke's shoulder to offer him a hand. While Sasuke didn't take Obito's hand, who knew where he put that thing, he did turn to go back to the ceremony.

"Fine but you better not be bluffing." He said stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Obito would take it. He'd break the kid out of his shell soon enough.

* * *

Months later all the genin teams were hard at work. Almost a week ago Team Seven had been sent out to be the bodyguards for a bridge builder. Akane had lost track of the other genin teams. Everyone was too busy working or training to keep in contact much. It seemed there was no end to the missions that genin could be assigned to.

Team Five's first couple of missions were probably the most boring jobs ever. Somewhere between washing the Hokage Faces and cleaning out the Lord Third's attic she had started to believe Minato just wanted them to be the village janitors. If Akane was displeased about that then Kogeki was absolutely livid, a defining trait of his family Rin had told her.

The Tsunzaku weren't quite Clan status but the family still had a bit of a reputation. That is for being either extremely tall or extremely loud and brash. Most of the time it was both. Kogeki Tsunzaku was definitely tall, he'd been the tallest in their class in fact, but was only loud when he was displeased with something, like today.

"Man this is totally boring! Why can't we get any good missions?" Kogeki complained.

If their Sensei had an answer she didn't give it, instead she handed him another pack of rice flour to carry. Today their mission was to help a new traveling merchant set up shop in town. This guy sold a little bit of everything, from foodstuff to weaponry, to toys and miracle cures, and they had been tasked to unload everything from his caravan as he sat and shouted orders their way.

Minato had told the three genin to be on their best behavior as they did their work. The merchant was apparently well known for having a quick temper. There also had been rumors some other unscrupulous behavior but no charges stood against him. Regardless of these things the man had something Konoha, and by extension Minato, wanted and in exchange for it he would get to set up shop in the village. It also meant they got to endure his cutting remarks and the creepy looks he gave Rin.

"This guy is something, huh?" Yasashi commented.

Akane agreed with him as she rolled another barrel onto it side. They were currently unloading gallons upon gallons of some strange liquid. Akane didn't know what it was but it smelled like piss and burned her nose. It was extremely unpleasant. They were about to their destination with the first barrel when the merchant began shouting.

"What are you doing you miscreant!"

Rin, being the Jounin in charge, immediately abandoned what she was doing. Silently she noted each of her Genin were doing their work. They weren't the ones that had drawn the man's rage then. She approached the man only to find him shouting at a small child. Perhaps they belonged to one of the people who'd been part of his caravan?

"Excuse me. What is the problem?" She asked politely, it was their job to make sure everything was going smoothly after all.

There was an odd expression that flickered over the merchant's face. He quickly covered it though when he sensed her. Rin might have been impressed if she didn't completely loath the guy already. The small child quickly scrambled away. A sliver of that same expression crossed his face again but he replaced with minor annoyance turning to the Jounin. Rin faked worry and began asking if everything was alright.

Akane caught the subtle twitch of Rin's fingers behind her back. A signal to follow or capture the kid. She immediately broke away from the crowd to follow the child. Rin watched the merchant's face while she made small talk with him for any sign that he'd caught on. If he had Rin couldn't tell.

* * *

Konoha had a maze work of back alleys and foot trails all over it. Plenty of people got lost in them all the time. The sole exception being the Shinobi of the village. Like most Leaf Shinobi she'd grown up in its tangled web playing games and cutting through the alleys when she was late for class or training. She would be able out maneuver the pint sized foreigner easily enough.

The chase ended quickly when the kid got themself cornered. He'd turned into a dead end formed up by a set of buildings. She smelled the kid even before she got close enough to see any distinguishable features. The only way she could describe it was every nasty smell in existence combined into one package. This kid smelled like despair and that was all she needed to know something wasn't right.

"Hey there. Are you okay?" Akane asked kneeling down.

The kid was young, maybe eight at the oldest. Their cloths were too big for them and stained, there were no shoes just dirty feet, and finally the kids hair was so overgrown and matted it didn't even look like hair anymore. It was obvious the neglect had been going on for months if not years.

Akane offered them her hand, "I'm here to help. Will you tell me who did this to you?"

They flinched away from her and tried to push themselves deeper into the corner. Their shuffling revealed large red welts on both their wrist and ankles.

"Please don't take me back." They whimpered softly.

"I won't." Akane didn't know what was going on but there was no way that kid was going back to where ever they had come from.

The kid was still trying to hide in the corner, repeating their earlier statement, when Kogeki arrived at the mouth of the dead end. He whispered her name unsure if he could come closer. Akane signaled him to wait where he was.

Akane shift backwards a bit trying to give the scared kid some space. Despite her telling him to stay back Kogeki came to join her. Squatting next to her Kogeki examined the kid for himself. For their part the child didn't seem to notice Kogeki had joined them. They only continued to shake and repeat their words.

Before she could think of someway to try and coax the child they sensed someone coming their way. Fast.

Kogeki snapped up to his feet instantly. He swung around in time to catch the first kunai that flew their way. Akane was a beat behind him forcing her chakra to create a shield in front of them. The blue energy wavered as she tried to stretch it all the way across the alleyway. It was pushing it a bit too far. She managed to hold it long enough to stop the first volley of kunai but then lost it. The chakra barrier didn't do much to stall the attackers and the two unmarked men came at them.

Kogeki produced a scroll and unrolled it enough to show the first summon seal. There was kanji in the center of the circle the read Hajime Ketsueki, First Blood. In a puff of smoke Kogeki had drawn a sword from the scroll. It was a basic enough weapon, a sword with a strong blade and red hilt.

Kogeki readied himself, drawing the sword back for the first man. The first enemy to reach them charged straight for the boy as he drew a sword of his own. Soon enough they were dueling it out at the entrance to the dead end. Akane was left to defend herself from the second man.

She blocked a blow aimed at her head by crossing her arms above herself. She grabbed the man's wrist pulling him into a kick aimed at his ribs. The enemy poofed away in a cloud of smoke and the only thing her foot made contact with was a log. For what it was worth the log then went flying toward Kogeki's attacker who had to poof away himself to avoid getting hit. Kogeki side stepped out of the way to avoid it as well. There was a good cut across Kogeki's cheek and it was bleeding pretty well. He tried to wipe away the blood with the back of his hand creating a large red smear across his face.

It was like gruesome war paint.

They didn't have long before the men resumed their attack. The man who'd attacked Kogeki returned to fight him. The one that had fought Akane tried to speed around her for the kid. Akane produced a chain of chakra, a jutsu her mother had taught her, and as the man sped past her Akane swung it at his feet. It twisted itself around his ankles and tripped him up just short of the kid. Akane tried to drag him back but he had the weight of a full grown adult on his side. She was forced to put extra chakra into the chain making it stronger and more receptive to her will. With that she started taking steps back wards slowly dragging the man along.

Realizing he was losing ground the man produced a kunai and charged it with chakra. Using that he struck the chakra formed chain around his ankles. Akane let the chain go allowing it to disappear then reformed it. She tossed the chain hoping she could get it around his torso. He snagged it out of the air then yanked on it before she could dissolve it again. This sent her flying through the air into the dead end of the alley.

She smacked back first into the hard wall of a building then hit the ground next to the kid. As she tried to get back on her feet Kogeki was sent flying her way and she was again smacked into the wall by him. Kogeki had put up a fight for sure but he was still left with a lot more cuts and bruises then his enemy. The pair pulled themselves to their feet.

"Any chance Rin-sensei or Yasashi are coming?" She asked.

Kogeki huffed raggedly and shook his head. They were being held up by the merchant and would most likely not be able to get here in time. The man had probably started his tirade just for this purpose. So he could send his goons out to get the kid and dispose of anyone they'd come across.

Only one thing for it then. It was the first time Akane had ever had to use it. Quickly she reached into her pouch and fished out a three pronged kunai. One of them men sick of having to deal with these kids rushed her. His fist went straight for her face and struck her right cheekbone. She felt the back of her head hit the building.

Between a fresh splitting headache and Kogeki shouting her name a flash of yellow sparked in the alley way.

Hell hath no fury like the Minato Namikaze.

* * *

Yay for protective daddy Minato! This chapter didn't really go where I was planning for it to but still ended up pretty well I think. Thanks for reading as always! Stay tuned for another chapter soon!


	7. Kareru

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

Akane knew that they had no chance against two full grown men who probably had a lot more combat experience. There was no reasonable hope that Rin and Yasashi would show up to save them. Akane also didn't have the stupid courage her brother had to pull through either. She had to pull a trump card.

The three pronged kunai was that trump card. It was too large for her to actually handle as a weapon. That wasn't why she carried it with her anyway. This kunai had been given to her by parents. If she was ever in trouble all she had to do was put chakra into the weapon and her father would know she needed him. It was a blow to her fresh genin pride to essentially 'go crying to her daddy' but she'd rather not die at such a young age.

As the man's fist forced her head back she shot a burst of chakra into her father's kunai. The burst of energy as Minato manifested sent a shock wave through out the immediate area. The enemy that had punched her was sprawled back at the mouth of the alley. It was an odd feeling when she realized she wasn't holding onto a kunai anymore but instead had the fabric of her father's cloak pinched between her fingers.

Kogeki had never been afraid of the Hokage really. He'd always seemed like a nice guy and Akane often told them stories of his terrible 'dad' jokes. This was not that Hokage. This was not the man who visited their classroom in the academy, or showed up randomly at training, or gave them those stupid missions. This was the Hokage facing down an enemy. The enemy who had to gall to attack his Genin. But most of all this was the Hokage who was also a father to the girl behind him. The girl who was covering half her face out of pain trying to hide a quickly forming bruise.

It was over fairly quickly and Kogeki was pretty sure their Hokage was invincible after that. It was done fast enough that Genma and the rest of his squad didn't appear until after Minato had dealt with the threat. They promptly began securing the men to be sent for interrogation even without Minato telling them to do so. Minato told them to gather up the child as well and take them to be cared for.

"Should we send the Lady over?" Raido asked.

Minato thought about it, "Have her meet us at the hospital." He directed walking towards his daughter.

Akane looked at him in surprise, "It's not that bad. It'll heal in no time."

She didn't need her mom fussing over her too and a certain promise not to get into a fight so soon was ringing in her ears. Or maybe that was the possible concussion she might have. Minato ignored her protest and gently took the hand that was covering her face. The fresh purple bruise covered most of that side and her eye was swelling. He gave her look that told her she was going to the hospital no matter what she thought about it.

"How are you, Kogeki?" He asked examining the boy as well.

Kogeki waved it off, "Nothing too bad. Just a few cuts."

Minato eyed them both skeptically. What was it with hard headed genin these days? Well, he couldn't say he'd been any different back in the day. Kogeki was littered in a myriad of cuts, scraps, and bruises. He had two cuts on his face, one on his cheek and the other above his brow, and both were bleeding heavily. The boy was at least good enough to stand and walk on his own. Akane wobbled a bit on her feet but insisted she was fine. Minato kept a grip on both anyway until some of the Medical Corp showed up to escort them to the hospital.

* * *

Kushina was not pleased to say the least. If the two men responsible for her daughter's swollen face hadn't already been taken they'd be dead by now. As it was the only things she could do now was fuss over her daughter. Akane had to admit in a certain dislike for doctors and hospital rooms. She spent plenty of her younger childhood in them that she felt her dislike was justified.

Despite her protest having her mother with her was comforting. Kushina held an ice pack to the back of Akane's head, thankfully there was no concussion, as the Doctor check a few last minute things. She'd gotten an x-ray and the he had poked and prodded her till he was satisfied there was no serious injury. Now she was just impatient to leave. The doctor handed them some sheets of information on head injuries and warning signs then sent them on their way.

They passed Kogeki and his father in the hall as they left. The boy was far to pleased with his injuries as he spoke excitedly to his father. His dark green eyes seemed to brighten as he spotted his teammate when they approached. He pushed back some hair from his face to show off the stitches that criss-crossed the cuts on his face. He informed her that they'd probably scar. That was another thing he was far too happy about. Kogeki's father was not so pleased. While he was not a overly stern father he looked increasingly irritated as his son continued to ramble on. If Kogeki was in better shape the man might have whacked the boy on the head. Before any scolding could be done though Akane's mother interrupted the boy.

"I owe you a thank you Kogeki." She started, "I heard you really helped Akane out. So thank you for being a good teammate to her. I hope you both can continue to work well together."

While Kushina was just being honest with the boy it had served a secondary purpose. No father could be irritated with his son for long when someone, let along the Hokage's wife, praised the boy so earnestly. Kogeki beamed back at them so bright he was practically shining for real. Shugeki, that was his father's name, gently ruffled the boys messy black hair with pride.

"Thank you for the praise Lady Kushina!" Kogeki said bowing respectfully.

* * *

The pairs exchanged a few more words and then parted ways. Akane had thought they were headed home but then her Mom lead her past the front entrance and up a few flights of stairs. Eventually they ended up at an unassuming door. Without a word Kushina slid the door open and they both went in.

There was a small boy and nurse in the room. Akane couldn't place where she'd seen the kid before but he looked very familiar. His head was completely shaven bald. He had a few bandages and looked very malnourished, like someone had starved him.

Oh, the kid from the alley.

"Hello there. How are you feeling?" Kushina asked gently.

The boy only ducked his head looking at his new visitors shyly. Akane couldn't contain her curiosity over the child. She'd never seen anyone so badly neglected before. She couldn't imagine anyone doing this to someone else on purpose. Still she was happy to see he was no longer filthy but clean and looked after. He'd recover in no time she thought.

"Do you remember my daughter? This is Akane." Kushina said gently pushing Akane ahead of her.

The boy smiled a little. Akane returned it with one of her own, "Do you have a name."

It took the boy several minutes to work up the nerve to speak, "Kareru."

"That's a nice name." She told him.

He blushed a little at the attention and began fiddling with his hands. It was a good sign that the boy was willing to speak with Akane. A twelve year old probably wasn't as intimidating as the many adults who had come to speak with him. Deciding to give them space Kushina excused herself and dragged the Nurse along with her. Akane was somewhat confused when her mother told her to stay with Kareru. Her mother's light smile was reassuring though and told Akane she had something in mind.

"Just keep talking to him Akane." Her mother whispered as she past.

A few minutes had passed as Akane traded simple question with the boy. How old are you? Nine. How did you get to Konoha? The Merchant. Where were your parents? Back home. Did they know you are here? Maybe. Where are you from? That earned a pause as if he struggled to remember the name of his village. Eventually he identified a village she remembered being a border town.

Ultimately she found out the boy was now nine but had been with the merchant for a couple of years. He only remembered the name of his town because another older child had been taken from the same one. That boy had often spoke of the village and kept telling Kareru that someday they'd return there. Akane felt sickened and enraged as the more she talked to the boy the more it became obvious that the merchant was a slave trader. She learned the merchant's name was Iyashi Teizoku.

Had he come to Konoha looking for fresh slaves or was he looking to sell off the ones he had?

Kareru told her there had been others brought into the village along with him. He couldn't tell her how many though as he couldn't count, had never been taught to. She offered him her hands instead and told him to tap a finger for each person he remembered being there. There were seven not including himself and all of them were children.

"I'm going to get my mom, Kareru. We're going to save the others." She told him resolutely.

Kareru smiled relieved. The time he had spent with the merchant made up most of his memories but there were still those vague ones. Memories of a happier place with light and smiling faces. They shined through the bleak dark ones of the times he spent huddled away in a dark corner alone and scared. He would never regret running for the light when it had presented itself. If he hadn't Akane would never have come into his life. She wouldn't be telling him everything would be okay and that she was going to save the others.

As she left the only thing he could do was say, "Thank you, Akane."

* * *

A little shorter than the last couple of chapters but I think the theme of this arc is pretty well established here. I have some many little plot bunnies and spinoffs for this story it isn't even funny.


	8. Affinity

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

Kareru's testimony was only enough for Minato to put the merchant under surveillance. Akane had never been more angry in her life and it was the council's fault. As much as Minato wanted to they wouldn't let the Hokage risk a well traveled and influential business partner over the word of a child. Akane had never been more convinced they were a bunch of high and mighty a-holes. It took two weeks worth of suspicious activity for them to allow Kushina, only because she threatened them, to set a corp of Jounin on him.

The Jounin seized everything he'd brought with him into the village. Along with his noted legal merchandise they found plenty of illegal substances. All of them paled in comparison to the rag tag bunch of children they found huddled away in a carriage. They weren't surprised to see two Konoha native children had been added to the seven Kareru had informed them about. The children had been taken from their homes in the middle of the night just that past week. They might have lost more if Kushina hadn't told the Elders to shove a kunai up their assholes and done what she wanted anyway.

Iyashi, the child thieving merchant, was taken into custody along with his staff and the children had been set free and sent to the hospital for care. Kareru and the other children had given them plenty of reason to believe the merchant was part of larger ring of slave traders. How far reaching this slave trade had gotten to be was the core question of the Interrogation Squad. It all left Akane with a bad taste in her mouth and she was sure the issue wasn't over.

The only thing that distracted her from the situation was Team Seven's return. The bunch looked like they had stepped out of a war zone. They were sporting any kind of scrape, bruise, cut, and puncture you could think of. Everyone was shocked to hear that genin team had scrapped with one of the most dangerous shinobi Kiri ever produced and all of them had come out alive.

Despite his own wounds Naruto had laughed at the yellow-green of the healing bruise on his sister's face. Akane punched him in the face in retaliation, if he thought it was so funny he could enjoy one of his own. Kushina had to tear the scuffling pair apart.

* * *

Naruto had a pretty nifty story to tell his sister about his first battle as she clumsily tried to redressed his wounds in the kitchen that night. He went on about how he saved Sasuke, if you'd call it that, and about a strange red chakra that sprang up when he thought the other boy had died. The red chakra bit caught her attention. Had Naruto had used the Kyuubi's chakra?

Now that they knew about the fox demon inside of them Akane had been hyper aware of everything that set her and her brother apart from the other genin. They were mostly normal but due to being Jinchuuriki they had developed massive amounts of chakra. Chakra that Naruto struggled to control and Akane could barely manage.

Perhaps the only reason she could manage a bit better than her brother was her earlier start in learning control. As a toddler she had suffered from unstable chakra flow which had made her susceptible to illness and caused aches and pains. It persisted through most of her childhood until sometime roughly around the end of their first year in the Academy. It was one of the reasons she greatly disliked hospitals.

"-and now I can walk up trees!"

Naruto's loud voice cut her out of her thoughts abruptly. Her brother winced has her hand jerked the bandage a bit too tight. He turned to chew her out to be gentle but her questioning look stopped him. It also sent him rambling on about an exercise Kakashi had them do. Kakashi had sent them into the woods to climb trees using chakra. It was slow going as this particular field of study was something, as mentioned before, Naruto had always struggled with. She was surprised when he told her Sasuke had trouble with it too but her twin didn't lie to her, often.

He never lied to her when it came to Sasuke. The boy was like a brother, or close cousin, to the two of them.

"It was tough at first but I got some pointers from Sakura and it made sense. Me and Sasuke spent all night working on it! It took a long time but we got it and it was amazing. You shoulda seen the view from the top of the trees-" He laughed out.

Akane grabbed her brother by the shoulders a little roughly, "Show me."

So they found themselves outside standing next to a tree. Slowly Naruto forced chakra to his feet and climbed the tree. If his hair and clothes didn't adjust to hang toward the grown she'd almost believe he was defying gravity completely. Akane tried it for herself and decided it was one of the oddest sensations she'd ever felt. Defying logic could give you something of a head rush. It took a lot of focus to keep the chakra flow even at first but became easier as she got the feel for it. She took baby steps up the tree until she was almost at the same height as her brother before she stopped. The tree wasn't very large and falling from this height wouldn't kill them but it would hurt.

"What are you two up to?"

Two pairs of sapphire blue eyes swiveled to spot Obito Uchiha and his ward, Sasuke.

* * *

"So you were having Naruto show you how to climb trees?"

Akane nodded at her father's student using her chopsticks to grab another chunk of pork. Minato and Kushina were working late that night and had asked Obito to check up on the twins. Being the nice guy he was he opted to bring them dinner, which was really just left overs from Rin's cooking the night before. Sasuke had been dragged along for the ride.

"Rin Sensei hasn't hasn't shown us that yet. She did show us how to make barriers though." Akane mentioned.

Obito nodded sagely, "Sounds about right. Rin's been working on her barrier skills for awhile now."

Obito looked pretty proud of his girlfriend as he nodded in affirmation. They really weren't sure what he was nodding about. Obito was kind of spacey sometimes though he was probably thinking something in his head. Something he probably wouldn't opt to share with them only further leaving them in the dark.

Sasuke broke the silence, "What other jutsu were you taught?"

"Mom's been teaching us some basic sealing jutsu-" Akane started only to be cut off by her brother.

"Dad won't teach me the Rasengan! Can you believe it? Shouldn't stuff like that be passed on?" He began to rant.

Akane only sighed used to hearing this particular tirade. Sasuke was mildly confused. What was the Rasengan? Whatever the case was Obito snapped back to attention with a glint in his eye. Akane knew to be careful of that look, Naruto often got it when he came up with a new prank. Obito didn't get up to nearly the same amount of mischief Naruto did but it was best to be wary.

"Have your parents tested your chakra affinities yet?"

Naruto raised a brow, "Chakra what now?"

Obito went on to explain in detail how Chakra had affinities. While you could have more than one type everyone had one they matched up with the most. That one was called their affinity and using jutsu of that type was markedly easier for the person, though could still be tough to master.

"How do you test it?" Akane asked.

As it happened it took a special type of paper which somehow Obito just so happened to have on him. Like he'd planned this all along. Obito had each genin hold a single piece in the palm of their hands. Three confused sets of eyes stared expectantly at him. He told them all they had to do was force some chakra to the paper and see what it did.

Sasuke's paper wrinkled, Naruto's sliced in half, and Akane's went damp.

"There you go. Sasuke is Lightning, Naruto is Wind, and Akane is Water." Obito explained.

Naruto blinked a little, "So I have the same affinity as Dad right? I can learn the Rasengen?"

"Naruto don't start bothering Dad again." Akane warned.

Her twin ignored her. Now that he knew he had an affinity for wind jutsu his dad had to teach him. He just had to tell his dad this. Fully convinced he had a sound argument he legged it out the door.

Sighing Akane turned to Obito, "Your in trouble now."

"Smooth move." Sasuke added.

* * *

A few hours later Obito and Sasuke were gone and Naruto returned looking appropriately dejected. He joined her at the sink to help with dishes, something he rarely did willingly. He remained silent but sometimes thats all he need to do for his twin to understand.

"I'm sure Dad will teach you someday." She assured passing him a wet plate.

Naruto dried the plate and stacked it in the cupboard but otherwise didn't respond. She tried a few more attempts to make conversation but he only grunted or shrugged in response to her prodding.

Well if that was the way he wanted to play it.

Akane scooped a handful of bubbles and, using to chakra to make sure they went where she wanted, threw them at her brother. Bright blue eyes looked her in shock through the mass of bubbles. Naruto than grabbed his own handful and threw them at her. Instantly the dishes were forgotten and the twins were having a bubble fight in the kitchen.

Thanks to the use of chakra it didn't take long for the kitchen to fill with even more bubbles and they were slipping and sliding around the room trying to catch one another. Naruto lunged for his sister who barely dodged him because they both slipped at the same time. She crashed to the floor and he flew over her then went slipping across the floor into the far wall.

"What on earth are you two doing?"

The twins only laughed from their positions trying to stand and failing miserably because they were laughing so hard. Kushina didn't know what to say. It wasn't exactly the calm clean home she was hoping would greet her but with a set of twins she had long ago realized she wouldn't be finding that anytime soon. This was a nice alternative though.

"Alright, clean it up. Jeez how did you two whip up this many bubbles?" She sighed waving her arms at the mess as if she could shoo it away.

It took them awhile to get rid of the bubbles but afterward the kitchen sparkled and the dishes were finished. Kushina ruffled her twin's hair then pulled them both into a tight hug.

"Mmm, I love you two." She sighed softly.

"Long day?" Naruto questioned.

Kushina nodded but gave them a warm smile and nodded, "But I get to come home to you two so I'm feeling much better."

The twins gave her identical smiles and hugged her tight around the waist. Coming home to see the happy faces of your family was incredibly healing. Especially after the days they were having recently. The work was tough but the twins loved it. Working hard to help their father and serve the village was a sort of rewarding they hadn't expected. As Academy students all they thought about was getting out there to fight the bad guys and save people and become heroes. Their first few missions were humbling and did much to show them that there was more to Shinobi work than the flashy fighting styles and war stories. They helped people in small ways now but they were determined to work their way up to the level their parents were at.

"We all have a long day waiting for us again tomorrow so let's get cleaned up and get some rest."

"Right. We'll work hard again tomorrow." They chorused together.

The next day they woke up before the sun to the sound of banging against the front door. It was a mystery to Kushina when he husband had come home but as she came out of the bedroom he was answering the front door. Her son was peeking out his bedroom door rubbing his eyes. She ruffled Naruto's already messy bed head as she passed him. He grumbled something under his breath and wandered toward to bathroom.

Minato was still trying to calm the man, a freshly promoted chuunin, when she joined him. The younger man was clearly in a panic as he flapped his mouth and huffed trying to speak. She almost though it was kind of funny until he finally managed to force his message out.

"Hokage-sama! The prisoner, Iyashi Teizoku, has escaped!"

* * *

As always I'm happy that you've stuck around long enough to read this chapter! If you enjoyed it please leave a comment or review!


	9. Picking Up a Trail

Title: Namikaze

Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?

* * *

The twins weren't surprised to find out that Team Eight was called into the Hokage Office early that morning. There were a specialized tracking team - few people could escape the combination of Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame skill sets. What did surprise the pair was to find their own teams also being called in. Team Seven's specialty was having no specialty at all - aside from using all out force maybe. Team Five's focus had become seals - all three of them could use them to some extent.

After all of them gathered in front of the Hokage they could barely stand still either from excitement or nerves. None of them had been assigned to a mission of this magnitude - Team Seven's mission in the Land of Waves non withstanding.

Minato surveyed them critically making them slightly more nervous, "Finding Iyashi isn't going to be easy but I have faith that you can all handle it. Team Eight will be the spearhead of this mission. It falls on you to track him down. He hasn't been gone long and he isn't a shinobi so his trail should be easy to pick up."

Once he was certain the first three kids understood Minato continued on, "Team Seven will work as back up for the search team. I want you all to stick close together - we don't know what tricks he does have up his sleeve even if he isn't a shinobi. Those two teams are dismissed."

Minato was sure the kids could handle the task especially with their Jounin instructors with them. Akane watched them go quickly followed by their teachers. She had to admit she was a little disappointed they wouldn't be able to track the jerk-wad down too. Kogeki also seems a little let down if the the slump of his shoulders is anything to go off of. Rin ruffled the boy's already messy hair good-naturedly.

"What will we be doing then, Hokage-sama?" Yasashi has the good sense to ask.

Minato smile was light, "Glad you asked. You three will be joining Kushina-san."

"We're working with Mom?" Akane had to ask.

Minato nodded, "Right. Head over to T&I and they will direct you from there."

T&I wasn't really as scary as people made it out to be. In reality it was fairly lack luster. A simple gray building located far from the village proper. A tall fence surrounded it and the air practically buzzed with energy from all the chakra barriers and seals surrounding the building.

"Most of it must be underground." Yasashi said as they entered.

Kogeki gave him a curious glance, "What makes you say that?"

Yasashi shrugged but an embarrassed flush covered his cheeks, " It's just I doubt the whole of T&I could fit into such a small building."

Kogeki gave him an agreeable nod like he'd had the same thought all along. Rin lead them along a dim hallway never saying a word instead she opted - as she often did - to let them talk and figure things out for themselves. She really only ever interjected when they started veering in the wrong direction. Eventually they reached an cage like elevator made out of gray and yellow steel - it looked incredibly suspicious. Elevators were rare contraptions put to good use in a place like this. It was hard to escape in a slow moving thing like an elevator.

"Rin-sensei do we really need to get in that?" Akane questioned.

"Is it safe?" Yasashi added.

There were probably stairs somewhere, the building just wouldn't be safe without a set of emergency stairs.

"Ah, stop worrying kiddos. It's perfectly safe. Now get in." Rin chuckled shoving the two nervous Genin into the potential steel death trap.

Compared to their trepidation of the thing the ride down into the main part of T&I was uneventful. The elevator stopped once to pick up a nondescript chuunin who said nothing to them as he entered or exited at the next floor. Akane and Yasashi shared a look but Kogeki was just jazzed to be in an elevator.

They went down another set of floors before Rin said, "This is our stop."

* * *

Naruto yawned as his team made their way toward the Great Gate. Currently it was closed given the situation but Izumo and Kotetsu - a set of Chunin and the usual daytime guards - were there. Team Kurenai was shuffling about the place trying to pick up a trail.

"Why are we starting here Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"We want to make sure he didn't get out of the village already. Since Iyashi isn't a shinobi he'd mostly likely have tried to go through the gate. There are other ways in and out but only Shinobi can access those." Kakashi explained in a tired tone.

Team Eight seemed to have come to a conclusion while they were talking because the three genin convened with their teacher. They seemed to discuss something working through a few question each of them had before joining Team Seven.

"Hey hey! Did you find anything?" Naruto was excitable as ever.

Sasuke grabbed the orange clad boy and by the collar and dragged him back out of Kiba's personal space. The trio only shook their heads in answer. Apparently Iyashi hadn't even made it this far which meant they'd need to start at the building he escaped from. Six kids eyed their teachers because now that they thought about it Minato hadn't told them where Iyashi was being held.

"I guess we're all headed to T&I then." Kurenai sighed.

"Oh, Joy." was Kakashi's deadpan answer.

* * *

Apparently T&I wasn't a welcoming place even in the main offices. A couple little cubicles had splashes of color to liven up worker's personal spaces but mostly the place was just gray. They were greeted a by another Chunin who looked vaguely familiar. The young man looked around in a shifty paranoid manner and stuttered when he spoke.

"Oh," Akane though to herself, "it's the guy from this morning."

Regardless of his odd duck behavior he was polite and led them down a series winding halls which eventually led into tunnels. It got darker the further they went and their guide only seemed to get jumpier. It felt like forever before their reached their destination. Akane knew they'd made it though when her mother swooped out of nowhere to snag her and her teammates - including Rin - in a bone crushing hug.

"Aw, look what you brought me Isamu! A team of cuties!" Kushina cooed

The chunin jumped at the mention of his name he might have responded but Akane complained, "Mom your crushing us."

Kushina gave them one last good squeeze before releasing them. The Genin wheezed but after years of Kushina's special brand of love Rin seemed to be made out of iron. She didn't even seem short of breath. They'd barely caught their breath back when Kushina shuffled them toward a table. Before they knew it they were seated in plain metal seats and something was shoved under their noses.

"Can you guys guess what these are?" Kushina asked.

Yasashi and Kogeki instantly shot Akane perplexed looks. Akane looked down at the paper before her then back up to the boys equally confused. All three looked at Kushina for an explanation.

"Aw, not even a guess? C'mon." She prodded back in return.

Yasashi reached down and picked up his piece of paper. There was a design on it perfectly centered on the long rectangular strip of white. It was blocky, made of all straight lines, filled in with black ink. Kogeki twitched his identical sheet sideways and the symbol almost looked like a set of glasses - or handcuffs.

"Detainment seals?" He guessed.

Kushina smiled, "Bingo."

"I feel like whatever we were sent here to do is already done." Yasashi said.

"Mostly. Still it's a good learning experience. Especially for you three." She offered placating.

"Should we move on to next thing then Kushina-san?" Rin said.

Kushina nodded the affirmative and the two women led them to a long hall of cells. The hall was a bleak dark gray and barely lit. The place smelled too - a nasty mix of something foul and something like disinfectant. Thankfully they only wandered about halfway down before stopping in front of ruined cell.

"This," Rin said indicating behind her, "is the cell that Iyashi Teizoku was in."

Immediately all the kids could see one thing wrong with the cell. The bars were broken and bent into the cell. Akane wandered into it's confines Yasashi close behind. Kogeki remained outside the cell looking at something. Yasashi reached down scooping up a shredded sheet of paper.

"Hey Kushina-san what is this on the outside?" Kogeki question.

"Ah, good eye. Thats a a barrier seal - for keeping things out." Akane heard her mom say distantly.

She wandered to the back of the cell barely listening. Carefully she inspected the wall - her fingers tracing into the cracks that had caught her attention. A huge impact crater dented into a cement wall bigger than her head. She thought someone had broken Iyashi out but this thrashed that idea to pieces.

"Mom. Is someone after Iyashi?"


End file.
